True to its name, no fighting skill is required to rise through the ranks of Nine Waves' colorful anime fighter Lucky Battle — blind chance, diligent weapon upgrading and a bit of backstabbing are the keys to success here.

Ah, me, once again lured by the cuteness of an icon into an addictive little iPhone game that isn't at all what I thought it would be. I imagined real-time battles against random players, my tiny big-eyed warrior swinging his sword based on the tips of my fingers touching virtual buttons. In actuality the fighting system in Lucky Battle is instead this: There is no fighting system. You pick an opponent based on your level and relative power, hit the fight button, and then watch the battle unfold. Your character automatically swaps weapons and attacks. All you need to do is collect the gold coins that drop occasionally and wait for the outcome.

Those gold coins are the most important aspect of the game. They're used to buy weapons at the smithy, doled out from a random selection that ranges from the common to the epic. Proper use of those weapons requires timed sharpening, which also costs gold coins. Upgrading weapons requires other weapons be sacrificed, and those weapons cost gold coins.

All of those gold coins are being invested in raising your character's power level, which help determines the chances of winning a battle against other players. Winning battles earns experience, as does completing quests or performing jobs. Increasing in level means tougher opponents, but also unlocks special features like the Dungeon, a random place where you battle for fabulous prizes.

This is a social game, and that means you'll be making friends. You'll also be making rivals, stealing and recruiting followers that gather coins for you in your downtime, and swiping the gold your friends and rivals' followers have amassed.

Lucky Battle is the sort of free app that would be right at home on Facebook. You've got a limited amount of battles (more are amassed as time goes by or can be bought), limited job resources (more can be amassed over time or can be bought), and limited funds (you see where this is going). You don't have to spend any money to have a little bit of fun with it, but spending money can make your fighter much stronger than your cheap little combatant.

Lucky Battle is banal, mindless and ultimately pointless, but sometimes that's just the sort of non-action I crave.